Ellen attended the awarding of the 74th Annual BMI Composer Awards on May 27 at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Ellen is the permanent chair of the annual competition.

Maya Miro Johnson, seen at far right in the photo, is this year’s recipient of the Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Award.

BMI’s announcement:

BMI and the BMI Foundation were excited to announce the recipients of the 74th Annual BMI Composer Awards on May 27 at Joe’s Pub in New York City. The awards, which celebrate excellence in composition, were presented to seven emerging composers by BMI Foundation President and BMI AVP Creative, Classical & Jazz Deirdre Chadwick, BMI Chief Executive Officer, Mike O’Neill, and BMI Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue and Creative Officer Michael Steinberg.

Thanks to a recent gift to the Foundation from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams, as well as other donors, total awarded funds in 2026 exceeded $30,000, over $10,000 more than in previous years.

The 2026 award winners are:

  • Kevin Cromer – Age 22, student of Susan Botti

  • Cheryl Gau – Recipient of the Carlos Surinach Award for the youngest winner of the competition – Age 13, student of Alan Belkin

  • Maya Miro Johnson – Recipient of the Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Award – Age 24, student of Katherine Balch

  • Jacky Jiaqi Liu – Recipient of the John Adams Award – Age 23, student of Melinda Wagner and John Corigliano

  • Cole Reyes – Age 27, student of Michael Daugherty and Julia Wolfe

  • Calvin Rice – Age 21, student of Robert Kyr and David Crumb

  • Jackson A. Waters – Age 24, student of Julia Wolfe and Shelley Washington